When Joseph Smith received the First Vision, reports of spiritual encounters were already familiar amid the religious fervor of the Second Great Awakening. Joseph was a true visionary, but swelling religious excitement drove many to dismiss him as just another self-proclaimed prophet. Those who believe Joseph to be a prophet have always seen his experiences as legitimate communication with heaven.

As a testimony to the truth of Joseph Smith’s prophetic calling, this year’s BYU Religious Education Symposium in Honor of Sidney B. Sperry embraced the theme “Joseph Smith as a Visionary: Heavenly Manifestations in the Latter Days.” Scholars and Church leaders presented insights into the context and significance of Joseph’s visionary experiences.

Joseph received his visions by faith, and we likewise interpret them through that lens. As we examine their content, we see patterns of truth, consistencies with the Bible, and enduring doctrinal applications.

The spirit and testimony felt within this symposium can be perpetuated in individual study. Learning from Joseph’s visionary experiences is facilitated by scholarly tools and analysis more readily available than ever before. Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr., a General Authority Seventy, highlighted the learning opportunities available to us through the publication of The Joseph Smith Papers, saying, “[They] are a remarkable tool for studying these revelatory events that were so fundamental to Joseph’s calling as the first prophet, seer and revelator of this dispensation.”[1]

Individual learning is a key facet of fortifying our testimonies. The research shared in this symposium and published in its accompanying print volume proves by its diversity the vast opportunities for new insights and lifelong learning about Joseph Smith and his role as a visionary.

In the spring of 1820 the heavens were opened and heavenly messengers once again made the will of the Father known on earth. Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Restoration, received a vision heralding an age of revelation, divine guidance, doctrinal direction, and timeless truth. Joseph found himself under the mantle of facilitating the restoration of the Lord’s church. Like rain in a desert, knowledge from heaven fell upon Joseph in visions, directing him to truths about the nature of God, the organization of his church, and the purity of his doctrine.

Being a visionary was not novel to the people of Joseph’s time. Spiritual revival had led to claims of divine encounters and subsequent religious movements that sprouted up after the charismatic leaders claiming such experiences. As a result of such an excited environment, Joseph’s visions were, to those who failed to understand their value, whispers in a windstorm.

The welcome reception of visions had gone stale, and the rising popularity of intellectualism eventually led to negative associations with the word visionary. Visions were seen as not only unfounded but decidedly untrue. Skepticism and contempt created barriers to Joseph as he endeavored to share what he had experienced. Jared M. Halverson, an associate professor of ancient scripture at BYU, explained, “Even in an age of religious revivalism, by ‘continu[ing] to affirm that [he] had seen a vision’ (Joseph Smith—History 1:27), Joseph Smith was making a courageous, countercultural claim.”[2]

Joseph continued to share the news of his visions, actively seeking to publish them in newspapers. Scholar Jeremy J. Chatelain illustrated in his paper the cycle of disappointments Joseph had in his attempts to share the revelation he had received. Antagonism toward Joseph and the ever-prevalent caricature used in news to create a good story drove reporters to twist Joseph’s visions into tall tales and eliminate the important doctrine central to the visions.[3]

In stark contrast to shallow newspaper “retellings” of Joseph’s day, each paper presented at the symposium dives into the deep well of meaningful truths expounded in Joseph’s visions. Looking at our time, Sister Rebecca L. Craven, who served in the Young Women General Presidency from 2018 to 2023, described the doctrinal impact of Joseph’s visions, turning the focus to why they have been necessary and what fruits they bear. Through Joseph’s visionary experiences, she noted, we understand and enjoy the sealing power, we learn about the marvelous work of the Lord, we receive his commandments, and we have the opportunity to cherish the Book of Mormon and the protection it offers.[4]

Affirming the purpose of the 2025 symposium, the accompanying print volume includes this line in its introduction: “It is our sincere hope that the content of this book will stand as a testament to the mantle of the Prophet Joseph Smith as a visionary (in the most literal sense of the word), but also to the truth that the heavens are indeed open in these latter days; that God, through his infinite grace, continues to speak, visions occur, and the ongoing restoration of light and truth is poured out for all who are willing to believe and receive.”[5]

Notes

[1] LeGrand R. Curtis Jr., “The Joseph Smith Papers Project’s Elucidation of the Visionary and Visitation Experiences of Joseph Smith,” in Joseph Smith as a Visionary: Heavenly Manifestations in the Latter Days, ed. Alonzo L. Gaskill, Stephan D. Taeger, Derek R. Sainsbury, and Roger G. Christensen (Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Deseret Book, 2025), 14.

[2] Jared M. Halverson, “‘Covering the Seers’: Antivisionary Skepticism in the Days of Joseph Smith,” in Joseph Smith as a Visionary, 32.

[3] Jeremy J. Chatelain, “The Reporting of Joseph Smith’s First Visitations in Nineteenth-Century Newspapers,” in Joseph Smith as a Visionary, 87–106.

[4] Rebecca L. Craven, “‘Let the Hearts of All My People Rejoice,’” in Joseph Smith as a Visionary, 17–30.

[5] “Introduction,” in Joseph Smith as a Visionary, viii–ix.